1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel 1,2,4-triazole compound which may be substituted at the 1, 2 or 4 position with a substituted alkyl group and has aromatic rings at the 3 and 5 positions, a hydrate or a salt thereof, a process for production thereof, and a therapeutic agent for gout and hyperuricemia comprising one of these substances as an active ingredient.
2. Description of the Related Art
The number of patients with hyperuricemia in Japan is reported to be 1.25 million and the number suffering from asymptomatic hyperuricemia is estimated to reach several millions. Hyperuricemia is becoming a popular disease.
Presently, hyperuricemia and gout due to hyperuricemia are treated by improving the living environment and administering various drug therapies for each period when an attack of gout is predicted to occur (presymptomatic period), when an attack of gout occurs, or when an attack of gout subsides. That is, preventive therapy is conducted in the presymptomatic period by administering colchicines as well as controlling the daily living environment. When an attack occurs, drug therapy using non-steroidal or steroidal anti-inflammatory agents is mainly conducted. After the attack subsides, patients are given guidance to improve their lifestyle. When improvement is judged insufficient, an assessment is made as to whether hyperuricemia is caused by reduced excretion of uric acid or by increased production of uric acid followed by treatment with drugs, which exhibit a uricosuric effect, such as probenecid and benzbromarone, those which inhibit resorption of uric acid, such as sulfinpyrazone, those which improve acidurea conditions, such as citrates, and xanthine oxidase inhibitors which inhibit production of uric acid, such as allopurinol. Colchicine is said to be able to prevent about 90% of attacks through inhibiting chemotaxis and phagocytosis of leukocytes, such as neutrophils, if administration thereof has been completed within a few hours before the attack. Since colchicine has various adverse effects, however, the use thereof is limited to the minimum and it is therefore difficult to timely administer it.
Accordingly, drug therapies are mainly adopted, but only allopurinol is available for the treatment of a disease caused by increased production of uric acid. However, a metabolite of allopurinol, oxypurinol, tends to accumulate and may cause calculi formation. Furthermore, this drug has been reported to induce adverse events such as rash, a decreased renal function and hepatitis, and it is not easy to administer.
Examples of compounds having xanthine oxidase inhibiting activity that can be used for treating gout caused by increased production of uric acid and that are effective for hyperuricemia and gout due to hyperuricemia have been described in J. Medicinal Chemistry, 1975, Vol. 18, No. 9, pp. 895–900, Japanese Patent Publication No. 49-46622 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 50-24315, which disclose some 1,3,5-substituted or 3,5-substituted 1,2,4-triazole compounds.